Singapore nabs 27 Bangladeshis on terror charges, deports 26

A combination of undated Ministry of Home Affairs handout mugshots, distributed on January 20, 2016, of Bangladeshi workers arrested between November 16 and December 1, 2015, in Singapore for supporting militant groups. (Reuters photo)

Authorities in Singapore have arrested 27 Bangladeshi workers and deported 26 of them on charges of supporting Takfiri terror groups, including Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said in a Wednesday statement that the group had been planning to go back to Bangladesh to launch attacks against the government and had studied assassination techniques.

Aged between 25 and 40, the men were arrested in November and December last year, and all are construction workers.

Several of members of the group wanted to join the ranks of Daesh terror group operating in Iraq and Syria, the statement added. Some of them had also sent money to terror-linked entities in their country.

The men were careful not to be detected by the authorities and shared militant-related material “discreetly among themselves, and held weekly meetings and gatherings where they discussed” militancy, the ministry said, adding that the group was also actively recruiting members.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, meanwhile, said in a message posted on Facebook that while the group did not plan any assaults in Singapore and sought to carry out violence overseas, "they could have easily changed their minds and attacked Singapore.”

Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim also on his Facebook page urged more vigilance against “radical teachings and ideologies, or of any suspicious activities,” in Singapore but stressed, “At the same time, I hope we will remain united and not resort to discriminating (against) foreign workers here.”

According to authorities, the Bangladeshi laborers were in possession of radical and militant-related materials, such as footage of children being trained in apparent militant camps.

One of the group’s members is imprisoned for attempting to flee Singapore after he found out about the arrests of other members and would be repatriated to Bangladesh after serving his time in jail.

A police post in the center of Thamrin Street across from Sarinah shopping mall is damaged after a bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, January 14, 2016. (AP photo)

The development came less than a week after militants launched attacks in neighboring Indonesia. The violence, which was claimed by Daesh, left at least eight people dead in Jakarta, including four suspected attackers.